MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF HUDSON RIVER PARK'S CLINTON COVE

New Park Brings Water Access and Unique Public Art Installation to the Clinton Neighborhood

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today joined the Hudson River Park Trust and members of the community to celebrate the opening of Hudson River Park's Clinton Cove. The completion of this $12.5 Million project brings a beautiful 2.2 acre park, water access and a unique public art installation to the Clinton neighborhood in Manhattan. Clinton Cove is the second major section of Hudson River Park to be opened in the past two years and signifies yet another step forward in the Trust's mission to create a 550-acre waterfront park stretching from Battery Place to 59th Street along the Hudson River.

"Reclaiming New York's long-neglected waterfront is one of our Administration's central strategies for improving quality of life, producing jobs and additional housing, and creating open space in all five boroughs," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The Clinton Cove portion of Hudson River Park represents the next great step towards the completion of a beautiful five-mile stretch of recreational space that is already being enjoyed by thousands of New Yorkers each day. I would like to thank the Hudson River Park Trust for their leadership and commitment to a project that has become a model for what can be achieved along our City's waterfront."

"The completion of Hudson River Park's Clinton Cove is yet another milestone in the State and City's commitment to reconnect New Yorkers with their waterfront." said Charles E. Dorkey, III, Chairman of the Board of the Hudson River Park Trust. "Clinton Cove with its beautiful landscaping, water access and public artwork can now be enjoyed by residents, workers, neighboring schools and visitors from the entire City. It is such a pleasure to be able to open each new section of the park, and we look forward to our next big opening in 2006 at Hudson River Park's beautiful Pier 84."

Named for former New York Governor Dewitt Clinton who served in the early 19th century, Clinton Cove is located between 54th and 57th Streets in the northernmost section of Hudson River Park. Formerly the City's municipal concrete plant, Clinton Cove incorporates many spectacular features including a sweeping green lawn with trees and a striking boathouse that can accommodate kayaks, canoes and other small non-motorized vessels. Supplementing its beautiful landscaping and boating activities, the Cove has an extraordinary feature called a "get-down" which allows visitors to get closer to the water - below the level of the bulkhead - and experience the Hudson River at a more intimate scale. Clinton Cove was designed by Dattner Architects and Miceli Kulik Williams, Joint Venture, and DMJM+Harris, under the supervision of the Hudson River Park Trust's Design and Construction Department and Skanska/McKissack. In addition to the land and river based features, Clinton Cove includes the first permanent public sculpture commissioned as part of the development of the Hudson River Park: a site-specific art installation by artist Malcolm Cochran, "Private Passage" -- a 30' long x 8'6" diameter wine bottle resting on its side, within which is an interpretation of a stateroom based loosely on photographs of the ocean liner R.M.S. Queen Mary. The exterior of the bottle is fabricated steel, surfaced with thermal spray zinc and bronze and finished with a traditional green patina. The interior of the bottle is fashioned from stainless steel in a monochromatic scheme evoking the look of a platinum print or black and white film still. Visitors are able to view the interior through a number of portholes along the sides, top and bottom of the bottle.

"The completion of Clinton Cove is another link in the chain of green that will soon stretch from the Battery to Inwood Hill Park," said Commissioner Benepe. "The Hudson River Park Trust, under the leadership of Charles Dorkey and Connie Fishman, has done a wonderful job of advancing this unprecedented rebuilding of the west side waterfront for public recreation."

"We're thrilled to have helped bring Midtown Manhattan down to the riverside. This park - the result of a five-year collaboration with the Trust, NYC Parks, and the Community - combines landscape, park structures, public art, and water access into a seamless design." said Richard Dattner and John Williams, speaking for Dattner Architects and Miceli Kulik Williams who partnered on the design of this project.

"As a child I sailed with my family in 1955 from NYC to Helsinki. In thinking about the form this sculpture would take, I came to realize that my memories of the trip had more to do with the interior of the ship," said Malcolm Cochran. "This evolved into a merging of the convention of building a model of a ship in a bottle, of messages sealed in a bottle and tossed into the sea, and of a life-size stateroom equipped for a voyage for one."

"It is wonderful to have a Percent for Art project incorporated into this magnificent waterfront site," said Kate D. Levin, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. "As a whimsical reference to the history of the Hudson River, Malcolm Cochran's sculpture will surprise and delight visitors of all ages."

Hudson River Park, designed to be self-sustaining, will stretch five miles - from Battery Park to 59th Street - along the Hudson River, and will include a continuous waterside esplanade and bikeway/walkway, 13 public piers for passive and active recreation, a marine sanctuary and a variety of boating facilities, sports fields, gardens, and green lawns. Portions of the project already complete include the Greenwich Village Section (from Clarkson Street to Horatio Street) and new Courtyard Fields at Pier 40 and a continuous, 5-mile, two-way bike, skate and jogging path that runs the length of the Park.

"Private Passage" was created in participation with the New York City Percent for Art Program, which is administered through the Department of Cultural Affairs, and has commissioned and installed nearly 200 site-specific, permanent public art works throughout the five boroughs. The program requires that one percent of the budget for eligible municipal capital projects be used for funding public artworks. These can be found at public schools, parks, courthouses and other municipal facilities.